The Moon and the Sun
by OppisitesAttract15
Summary: What would have happened if Zuko joined the group before the invasion of black sun?


Zuko stared at Katara from afar. She was skinning the fish she had caught. He knew she was going to ask him to cook the fish with his fire later so they could all eat. The invasion was a mere week away but that's not what was on his mind. What was on his mind was the tan skinned, blue eyed, water tribe girl who the avatar fancied. She still didn't trust him, she thought he was lying to them, and only wanted to hurt Aang. Truth is, he really wanted to get closer to her. He thought she was exotic, and beautiful from the day he first met her. When she was running from the pirate attack. When he had grabbed her wrists she had stared into his eyes with an intense expression of fear and worry. That was when he realized how beautiful she was and his body had reacted to their closeness. And he told her "Don't worry, I'll save you from the pirates." That happened months ago but Zuko still thought about it from time to time and often smiled at the memory. And Katara would ask what he was smiling about which he always dismissed as nothing.

"Hey, you're smiling again, why are you always smiling?" Asked Katara, interrupting his daydream. She was glaring up at him.

"Just daydreaming about new fire techniques." He lied. She narrowed her eyes.

"More like daydreaming about new techniques to kill Aang." She growled. He was hurt.

"Katara…" He'd said quietly.

"Never mind. Can you cook this fish please?" She asked. He wanted to say yes but something inside him told him he needed to clear his name. He needed her to trust him. The urge felt incredibly strong.

"No." He said softly. She looked at him.

"Why not?" She said bitterly.

"Katara." Was all he said as he took a few steps toward her. Katara wanted to move but was frozen where she was by a feeling. A feeling she couldn't quite place. He stopped just 1 foot away from her, their stomachs almost touching.

"I know you feel that I will hurt Aang. But I won't. I will never hurt Aang, because I know if I do it will hurt you. And I don't want to hurt you Katara." Zuko said in a strained voice.

"Quit playing games Zuko. You don't care about me. You don't care about anyone but yourself." Katara said dryly. Zuko pondered this for a moment.

"I do." He said.

"Prove it." Katara said. This was enough to push Zuko. The urge he had felt for months to kiss her and now he was going to do it. He cupped her cheeks in his hands. Katara protested but didn't move. There was a feeling inside of her stomach that held her there. Zuko could see this and slowly raised her lips to meet his. Their mouths mashed together and Zuko closed his eyes. Katara kept her eyes open. _This is my first kiss._ She thought. She didn't know why she didn't pull away. Why she didn't blow him away with water. Instead she closed her eyes and gave in to the pleasure. After several moments Katara was the first one to pull away. She blushed furiously and picked up the skinned fish.

"Will you please just cook this?" She said and stormed off. Satisfied, Zuko cooked the fish.

That night at the campfire everyone gathered around and ate the fish and herbs that Katara and Zuko had collected. Aang was usually all chatty but tonight he was quiet. Sokka and Toph were going on about new battle techniques and Katara sat as far away from Zuko as possible. She could remember the feeling in her stomach as she kissed him and it felt weird. She wanted to avoid this feeling, so she needed to avoid Zuko at all costs.

"Aang, are you alright?" Katara said with worry. Aang looked up at her and smiled so fake and all of them could tell.

"Yes I'm fine I'm just a little tired tonight. I think I'm going to sleep." The young air bender said as he got into his sleeping bag and turned away from all of them. _That was weird._ Katara thought. She shrugged it off and finished her dinner.

That night the wind was blowing hard and when Katara tried to get into her sleeping bag, it blew away.

"Ugh!" Katara screamed at the air. Zuko sat up in his sleeping bag and noticed Katara trying to sleep on the ground.

"Katara, I have the biggest sleeping bag of all of us and you know it. Why don't you share with me? The two of us close will keep you warm" Zuko said bravely. Katara glared at him. So they kissed one time. Suddenly he thought he was her protector? The last thing she needed was to be in a tight space with Zuko. A cold gust of wind chilled her bones and she realized he was right. She didn't want to sleep on the ground. And it would be warmer with him. She stomped toward him and slid in. She knew it would be warm but she underestimated how warm it would be. She guessed it was a fire bender thing. She turned on her side and he copied her. They were spooning, she realized and it made her uncomfortable. But she was so warm and so tired so she just closed her eyes and surrendered to sleep.

When Katara woke up the next morning and she was facing Zuko. His eyes were closed and his lips slightly parted. His arms were supporting her head and their faces were so close their noses touched. The day's heat caught up to her and she slipped out of the sleeping bag trying not to wake Zuko. When she was on her feet she turned to see Aang quickly glance away. She knew he was staring at her. She worried Aang thought something was going on with her and Zuko. She wanted to explain but she didn't really know how. Sure she had kissed him, but he started it! Of course…she kissed him back. Ugh, it was all that damn Zuko's fault. She was so stuck in her daze she hadn't realized Aang had walked over to her.

"Hey Katara." He said quietly.

"Hey Aang, are you-."

"I saw you kissing Zuko." Aang interrupted her. Her jaw fell slightly open.

"Aang I swear _he_ kissed me. I don't like him, so it was nothing. I promise." Katara said too quickly for it all to be true.

"Okay Katara. If you say so, I believe you." Aang hesitated, and then smiled at her. She smiled too, relieved.

"So do you wanna practice some water bending?" She said. His eyes were distant but he nodded and they began to work.

Zuko awoke to the sun in his eyes and noticed Katara and Aang talking. Aang looked slightly detached from the world. He couldn't hear them but Katara was talking frantically. Aang said something then smiled, which made Katara smile too and she relaxed her shoulders. They walked off to practice water bending most likely, and Katara took one last glance in Zuko's direction with a glare, before turning away.


End file.
